Two major projects – a new Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel at the corner of Three Mile Road and US-31 and a new 30-home neighborhood at the corner of Four Mile and Hammond roads – are set to move forward after East Bay Township planning commissioners granted extensions for the previously approved projects Tuesday. Both projects are targeting 2027 groundbreakings.

The five-story, 131-room Homewood Suites by Hilton was approved by the township in June 2024 for the US-31/Three Mile intersection. The project is planned for the property where AAA and two residential homes are located. Site plan approvals are valid for two years, with developers able to seek a one-year extension if extenuating circumstances prevent construction progress.

Developers Bacall Group/Elite Hospitality said they learned during acquisition that AAA “had exercised an option affecting the property that had not previously been disclosed to us by the former property owners,” they wrote to the township. “This issue required us to substantially adjust our pre-closing process and work directly with AAA to develop a solution that would allow AAA to relocate to an alternative location while preserving our ability to proceed with the approved redevelopment.”

Resolving the issue created a “significant delay” in closing and “consumed a substantial portion of the original site plan approval period before we had ownership or the ability to commence work,” the developers wrote. “Since acquiring the property, we have continued to actively advance the project. Our team has been working through final project budgeting, construction planning, procurement, contractor coordination, and scheduling so that the project can move efficiently into construction.”

Township Director of Planning & Zoning Claire Karner said the project plans remain the same as previously submitted, including a 50-foot vegetative buffer and building setback from Mitchell Creek. Planning commissioners approved the one-year extension, which will be backdated to align with their previous approval date and so will be good through June 4, 2027.

Homewood Suites by Hilton is an extended stay hotel brand specializing in “spacious studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom suites with separate living and sleeping areas” and fully equipped kitchens, according to its website. The properties offer free breakfast, a 24-hour fitness center and sport courts, a pool, outdoor grills and firepits, and guest laundry. Groundbreaking is planned for next spring, according to a project representative.

Planning commissioners also approved a one-year extension Tuesday for a planned 30-home neighborhood on the northeast corner of Hammond and Four Mile roads. That project was originally approved in fall 2024. At the time, Knorr Properties was the developer behind the project, which was called Blue Water Vue.

Since then, the property and development rights were put under contract in January and sold in May to Granger-Becker V1 LLC, a partnership between Granger Group and Becker LLC. The new ownership team plans to develop the project much as previously planned: 30 single-family homes in a neighborhood now being called The Evergreens on Hammond. However, the group now plans to build one-story homes instead of two-story homes, which project representative Lindsey Leblanc said “fits better” in that area.  

Leblanc said the team will be applying for brownfield funding to support workforce housing in the neighborhood targeted at the 80, 100, and 120 percent area median income (AMI) range. “Single-family housing is in great need up here,” she said. The company will work through the brownfield approval process in the coming months ahead of a targeted spring groundbreaking, she said.

Pictured: Example of a Homewood Suites by Hilton in Wilmington